How to care for Evening Primrose Sundrops

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photocat Colonial Heights, VA Sep 16, 2008

I have a perennial in my yard which has been identified by a neighbor as Evening Primrose AKA Sundrops. based on my research, I agree with her identification. anyway ... my question is how to care for them as far as pruning is concerned. what I have read indicates that I should prune in the spring but the plants, now that they are no longer blooming, are very stringy looking. is there anything I should do with winter approaching or should I just leave them alone until the spring? in the spring, do I prune them prior to the 1st bloom? thanks in advance for any help provided.

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WeeNel Ayrshire Scotland, United Kingdom Sep 21, 2008

I dont know about your zone really, but as a general rule, you can prune/tidy all your perennial plants after they have flowered and are looking like they are going to dormancy for their winter sleep (look for signs of yellowing/brown leaves and drying stems) at this time you would cut them back to say about 2-3 inches from the ground and give them a mulch of nice new compost (not against the stems) this mulch will give them protection and food to see them through the winter. If you like to wait till spring, you must do it early spring before they start to put on lots of new growth or you will chop off the growing tips/side shoots and probably the flower buds too if left too late, but I top dress all the plants again in spring with a slow release plant food so they are well fed for the rest of the summer flowering months.
Evening Primroses are fairly delicate plants at the stems and the flower petals so if you wait till spring, you could cause damage to the new growth. good luck. WeeNel.

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photocat Colonial Heights, VA Sep 23, 2008

thanks so much, weenel.

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